Egg-in-a-Boat -- a Nutritious Pre-flight Breakfast

Counting all the breakfast you have ever enjoyed (or dreaded), you probably have tried one of the "egg-in-the-something": egg-in-a-hole, egg-in-a-nest, egg-in-a-bowl, etc. But have you every tried the egg-in-a-boat?

Yep you are seeing this right. It is a baked egg in avocado! It was a perfect breakfast to have on the day of departure, when the fall weather had just started to creep in around the New England area. Rich and luxuriously creamy, perfect with a side of toast and a mug of black coffee. 

And, it is fairly simple to make. Although it does take some time to bake. if one morning you wake up in great hunger, you may want to save it for another day.

First you half an avocado and crack an egg into it. Be careful to make sure the egg will fit. If you use a medium Hass avocado and a large egg, you will have to scoop some out and deal with the leftover avocado. (What did I do with it? Are you kidding? Of course there wasn't any. Probably because I picked the perfect pairs...)

Then you bake the baby at 350 degrees for about half an hour. Wait, wait, and wait some more...(I was actually quite hungry that morning.)

Fine, I confess here. The one on the left was my first experiment which failed myserably. The egg was over flowing and I had a big mess with egg whites hanging all over the place. And I did have leftover avocado. Well, sort of...Because I ended up just eating them right after scooping the meat out. Told'ya I was hungry!

Now this is pretty tasty already, just with a dash of salt and pepper. All, you can go fancy, and top it with your favorite seasoning, herbs, and even bacon! In my case, I added some fresh cilantro, and some fennel top from the Yale Farm, plus a sprinkle of paprika.

I took one bite and regretted that this was my last day before the trip because I would want this every day! (I probably won't be able to have it again till I get back, as oven is such a rarity in a typical Chinese kitchen.)

Egg-in-a-Boat

makes 2 servings

• 1 avocado
• 2 eggs
• salt & pepper to taste
• your favorite topping (spices, herbs, bacon, cheese...sky is the limit!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the avocado in half.
2. Crack one egg into each half of the avocado, and place both halves in a lined baking dish. 
3. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the eggs are set. 
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and go creative with your favorite toppings!

Tips:

• Consider scooping out some of the avocado before cracking that egg in. There is NO going back once the mess is made!

Nutrition

Each serving provides about 200 calories, 9 grams carbohydrate, 8 grams protein, 20 grams fat. The fat content may seem high, but most of it is the healthy monounsaturated fat. 

Cost
Our avocado was from the grocery store (nothing special about it) and cost about $1 each. Eggs were organic free range (on sale from the grocery store) and cost about $0.40 each. So the cost per serving comes to under $1 (and it tasted divine)!